State fund helps Oak Park Heights plan for PFAS treatment

A state fund created to help cities that are losing a power plant is helping Oak Park Heights pay for design work on a foreseen future water cure facility to remove PFAS from the city s two wells In Oak Park Heights will lose its largest taxpayer when Xcel Vitality shutters the Allen S King power plant The plant which employs people provides percent of the city s tax base or about million in announced Jacob Rife city administrator At the same time the city demands million to design a expected new water recovery facility that would be located somewhere near Oak Park Heights City Hall City administrators learned last year that both of the city s drinking water wells tested above state guidelines for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances The current numbers however remain within federal guidelines and no action is required as of yet Rife stated However we are taking a very proactive approach in that our numbers could change or the state could make their numbers enforceable so we want to be ready to go he explained The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Evolution this week awarded Oak Park Heights a second Population Force Transition grant this one for to help pay for plans for the facility Last year the city received a Society Resource Transition grant for a feasibility examination and pre-design work for the new remedy facility This year s grant will be used to evaluate records from the earlier studies and determine the process equipment healing plant building design and project cost estimates according to DEED The agency s Potential Transition Office supports cities undergoing or preparing for power-plant closures in their efforts to maintain vitality and diversify their economies explained DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek Communities can face considerable uncertainty when a power plant closes Through these grants we re partnering with local leaders to help ease that transition The city is contracting with Stantec for preliminary design work to help answer questions such as where a promising new remedy facility would be sited size of the facility costs and construction schedules Rife announced The grant funds will get the city s design plans to approximately percent for water recovery at Wells and and city administrators tentatively expect to get to percent design by summer of he disclosed Related Articles St Paul Park Police chief is fourth department head in city to resign since January Norwegian group will host Syttende Mai celebration in Stillwater Gammelg rden opens for season on May restoration of Pastor s House is planned MN Robustness Department updates fish consumption guidelines for PFAS Oakdale middle school educator charged with criminal sexual conduct with minor The city will use from its own water funds to pay for the design work but is still seeking grants and state bonding to cover the rest Rife noted The city also anticipates receiving funds from a national class-action settlement regarding PFAS in drinking water supplies Rife mentioned The chemical company DuPont last year agreed to pay billion to society water systems across the U S that detect PFAS chemicals in their drinking water supplies I m not sure of where that number will land Rife revealed We have specific ballpark estimates right now but we just won t know until that comes in so we re trying to get the majority of the design work to be funded through grants and outside money so we re being very aggressive in pursuing grants Mayor Mary McComber declared the city has to be proactive If something happens to one of our wells and we need to shut it down well we only have two wells and that s it she noted We need more water supply